Competition to find the best green-building and cleantech start-ups

Saint-Gobain, the world leader in sustainable habitat, has officially launched the fifth editionof its Innovation Competition. Since its inception in 2008, this Competition has aimed toreward start-up companies that aspire to develop and commercialize the most innovativesolutions in the fields of habitat, energy and the environment such as construction products,advanced materials, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The Competition isorganized and sponsored by Saint-Gobain’s NOVA External Venturing group and offersprizes totaling $100,000.

This Competition was officially launched in Shanghai (China), during an Innovation Dayorganized in conjunction with the opening celebrations for Saint-Gobain’s 350th anniversary,attended by Javier Gimeno, Saint-Gobain General Delegate for Asia-Pacific, Didier Roux,Vice President, R&D and Innovation for the Saint-Gobain Group, and MuthuJeevanantham,Director of Saint-Gobain Research Shanghai.

Three prizes will be awarded by the panel of judges: first prize, $50,000, second, $25,000and third, $15 000. New in 2015 will be an additional “Saint-Gobain Community Award”,worth $10,000, to be awarded to one of the eight finalists selected by a vote of Saint-Gobainemployees. Beyond funding, the NOVA team will evaluate all of the finalists for potentialpartnerships based on development and R&D, commercial, distribution and manufacturingagreements, or for taking equity interests.

“Saint-Gobain takes a keen interest in working with start-ups because we believe they are atthe source of many exciting innovations that could be brought onto our markets. By enteringthe NOVA Innovation Competition, a start-up will have the opportunity to be evaluated bySaint-Gobain teams and, where there is a mutual interest, to work with our activities onpotentially significant business opportunities. Thanks to the Competition, the finalists andwinners will also enjoy wide public exposure,”

Comprised of a team present in Europe, North America and Asia, NOVA works with start-upcompanies to identify opportunities with the Group’s worldwide business units, in order tospread innovation and accelerate the commercialization of new business concepts. Itpromotes an open innovation model and facilitates cooperation between young companieswith innovative solutions and high-growth potential and Saint-Gobain, a Group with a historyspanning 350 years and one of the top 100 most innovative businesses in the world1.

Entry conditions

Start-ups from all over the world with projects aligned with Saint-Gobain’s strategic areas ofinterest mentioned above are invited to submit their entries by June 19, 2015.A jury made up of members of the NOVA team, in-house and external experts, will examineall entries using an open, transparent selection process and select eight finalists, who willpresent their innovations before a panel of Saint-Gobain business leaders during a “speeddating” session to be held during the GreenbuildInternational Conference & Expo(November 18-19, 2015) in Washington, D.C. (US). To find out more about the NOVA Innovation Competition, see the official rules and download the entry form, visit the website?www.nova-saint-gobain.com.

About Saint-Gobain

In 2015, Saint-Gobain is celebrating its 350th anniversary, 350 reasons to believe in the future.Backed by its experience and its capacity to continuously innovate, Saint-Gobain, the world leader inthe habitat and construction market, designs, manufactures and distributes high-performance andbuilding materials providing innovative solutions to the challenges of growth, energy efficiency andenvironmental protection. With 2013 sales of €42 billion, Saint-Gobain operates in 64 countries andhas nearly 190,000 employees. For more information about Saint-Gobain, visit?www.saint-gobain.comand the twitter account @saintgobain.

About NOVA External Venturing

NOVA External Venturing is the Saint-Gobain team in charge of identifying and evaluating start-upswith a view to making mutually beneficial, long-term development partnerships with the Group’sactivities. They combine Saint-Gobain’s marketing, manufacturing and R&D resources with thefreshest ideas in construction and advanced materials. Since NOVA was set up in 2006, over 2,600start-ups have been screened and more than 65 partnerships signed. These partnerships can takevarious forms: co-development, licensing, manufacturing or commercial agreements, investments,joint-ventures. For more information about Saint-Gobain’s NOVA External Venturing team, please visit?www.nova-saint-gobain.com。

Press contact for France:
Sophie Chevallon: + 33 1 47 62 30 48
Susanne Trabitzsch: + 33 1 47 62 43 25
Press contact for North America:
Dina Silver Pokedoff: + 1 61 03 41 70 31
Press contact for Nordic & Baltic countries:
Morten STARUP: + 45 4212 7581
Press contact for Benelux, Germany & Austria:
Regina Decker: + 49 24 15 16 25 04
Press contact for Great Britain:
Richard Halderthay: + 44 78 23 32 84 44
Press contact for China:
Catherine Liu: + 86 21 6361 8741
Press contact for Japan:
Maiko Yamagushi: + 81 3 3288 6300
Press contact for Brazil:
MeglenHerreiraFerraz: + 55 11 22 467 685
Press contact for Korea:
Sae Rom LEE: + 82 2 3706 9071